Side Projects Podcast
Side Projects Podcast
with Clara Malley, Eli Williams, and Trey Taylor
Why Does Palantir Want to Be a Lifestyle Brand?
40 minutes Posted May 5, 2026 at 2:32 pm.
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Show notes

They’ve got Hollywood ambitions, buzzy merch drops, and swarms of loyal fans (and drones). Why is Palantir, a shadowy data analytics company that many view as emblematic of America’s slide into an unaccountable surveillance state, building a brand universe? This week, our guest is Daysia Tolentino. She’s a freelance writer covering internet culture, with bylines in GQ, Teen Vogue, Vulture, and NBC News. She also writes the Yap Year newsletter on Beehiiv. We ask her about Palantir chore coats, her interview in GQ with Eliano Younes, the Head of Strategic Engagement at Palantir, and why tech’s pursuit of “good taste” is in bad faith and won’t work. 



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